Asia Economics Weekly Singapore bouncing back, rate cut for the Philippines The government in Singapore is starting to ease restrictions, and the success of the country’s vaccination programme will hopefully allow a rapid return to normality. This should set the stage for a... 9th July 2021 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Thailand’s reopening, exports soften Thailand’s tourism sector will remain heavily depressed despite this week’s reopening of Phuket to foreign tourists. Meanwhile, the latest data provide more evidence that export demand has started to... 2nd July 2021 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly August rate hike in Korea, Indonesia outbreak We were already more hawkish that the consensus in expecting a rate hike in Korea this year, but recent comments by the central bank and strong economic data mean we are shifting forward our forecast... 25th June 2021 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BoK hawkish, vaccine hopes, Singapore trade softens Policymakers in Korea have started to sound increasingly hawkish about the outlook for monetary policy, supporting our view that the Bank of Korea will begin raising interest rates before the end of... 18th June 2021 · 9 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Encouraging signs in Thailand The past week in Thailand has seen a number of encouraging developments, but it is too early to start raising our GDP growth forecasts. 11th June 2021 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea vaccinations surge, Philippines rate cuts loom A surge in vaccinations in Korea has brightened the prospects for the consumer recovery and strengthened our view that the central bank will be able to begin tightening monetary policy this year. In... 4th June 2021 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Oil prices and inflation, fiscal support in Taiwan Fuel price inflation across Emerging Asia will drop back over the coming months as last year’s low base starts to drop out of the annual comparison. With large output gaps set to keep underlying price... 28th May 2021 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Exports continuing to boom as Asia shuts down Asian exports reached another record high last month. Strong demand for electronics, especially semiconductors, has been the key factor driving demand higher. But exports of other items, including... 21st May 2021 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Singapore lockdown, improvement in Korea Singapore has announced several tough new measures to contain a sudden jump in COVID-19 infections. The restrictions will cause economic activity to drop in the near term, but the falls should be... 14th May 2021 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Forecast cut in Thailand, spill-overs from India The outlook for Thailand’s economy has gone from bad to worse, with a sudden jump in COVID-19 cases leading to the introduction of new virus restrictions. We are cutting our forecast for Thai GDP... 7th May 2021 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Weak consumption holding back recovery in Korea Korea’s Q1 GDP data showed that while output surpassed its pre-pandemic level last quarter, private consumption remained depressed. With COVID-19 infections still running at around 650 a day, consumer... 30th April 2021 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Travel troubles, virus surge prompts forecast cuts Delays to the Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble will have no direct implications for either economy, but the problems in getting the scheme off the ground demonstrate how difficult it is proving to... 23rd April 2021 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Taiwan’s semiconductor boom, Korea uncertainty Booming demand for semiconductors is prompting us to raise our Taiwan growth forecast for this year from 4.5% to 5.0%. This is well above the consensus of just 4.2%. Meanwhile, labour market data... 16th April 2021 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Moon eclipsed, AstraZeneca uncertainty Wednesday’s landslide defeat for President Moon’s Democratic Party (DP) in key mayoral elections in Korea suggest that it faces an uphill battle to retain the presidency in next year’s vote. Defeat... 9th April 2021 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Strong Q1 for Korea, tourism reopening plans The recent activity data point to an acceleration in Korean GDP growth in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Indonesia and Thailand have announced plans to accelerate the reopening of their tourism sectors... 1st April 2021 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Singapore loosens restrictions, new markets forecasts Singapore announced a further loosening of containment measures this week but given that social distancing is no longer a major drag on the economy, they are unlikely to provide much of a boost to the... 26th March 2021 · 7 mins read
